Với nhân vật trung tâm là J. Robert Oppenheimer, nhà vật lý lý thuyết người đứng đầu phòng thí nghiệm Los Alamos, thời kỳ Thế chiến II. Ông đóng vai trò quan trọng trong Dự án Manhattan, tiên phong trong nhiệm vụ phát triển vũ khí hạt nhân, và được coi là một trong những “cha đẻ của bom nguyên tử”.

Physicist Ted Hall is recruited to join the Manhattan Project as a teenager and goes to Los Alamos with no idea what he'll be working on. When he learns the true nature of the weapon being designed, he fears the post-war risk of a nuclear holocaust and begins to pass significant information to the Soviet Union.

The Moment in Time documents the uncertain days of the beginning of World War II when it was feared the Nazis were developing the atomic bomb. The history of the bomb's development is traced through recollections of those who worked on what was known as "the gadget."

A documentary composed of historical footage and contemporary interviews from the men and women of Los Alamos, recalling their experiences of the community and the creation of the atomic bomb from the inception of the program in 1943.